Del Balzo Aids Marangoni Development
UK TV viewers of BBC’s Top Gear motoring programme will be familiar with the character called “The Stig” – an anonymous driver who regularly puts cars through their paces by driving them at the limit. Italian tyre manufacturer Marangoni has its own version of the Stig who, according to the company, has the task of assisting the Marangoni research and development team in testing and analysing each product’s ‘intelligence’, on track and road. The information gained is used to ensure performance, comfort and safety are optimised for everyday drivers. The main difference is that the identity of Marangoni’s ‘Stig’ is not shrouded in mystery – he is in fact former F3 driver and European GT Champion, Cristiano del Balzo – the current Director of the Italian equivalent of the MSA, the CSAI Velocità.